(A) Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a high speed probing apparatus for semiconductor devices and a probe stage for the same, and more particularly, to a probing apparatus for semiconductor devices and a probe stage for the same equipped with a high speed stepper configured to move the probe downward to contact a device under test and to move the probe upward to separate from the device under test and further equipped with a contact sensor configured to sense the contact of the probe to the device under test.
(B) Description of the Related Art
Generally, it is necessary to test the electrical characteristics of semiconductor devices such as integrated circuit devices and light-emitting devices at the wafer level to check whether the semiconductor device satisfies the product specification. Semiconductor devices with electrical and optical characteristics satisfying the specification are selected for the subsequent packaging process, and the other devices are discarded to avoid additional packaging cost. Test time and cost primarily depend on the moving speed of the stage on which the wafer is disposed, with higher moving speeds corresponding to lower test time and cost.
FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrate a traditional probe system 300 using probe cards or probe units 302 for contacting the devices under test 312, 314, and 316 of the wafer 310. The device holder 304 such as the chuck holding the devices under test can move in three axes: X, Y and Z. To initiate the electrical testing, the device holder 304 moves laterally such that one device 314 aligns with the probe units 302 before moving the wafer 310 upward such that the probe units 302 contact the device 314 to form an electrical connection, and the electrical testing proceeds; once the electrical testing is completed, the device holder 304 moves the wafer 310 downward such that the probe units 302 separate from the respective devices; the device holder 304 then moves laterally such that another device 316 aligns with the probe units 302, and the device holder 304 moves the wafer 310 upward to repeat the electrical testing.
This design is widely used in current testing; for example, US 2008/0100312 discloses a test system that uses this design to move the devices under test in the X, Y, and Z directions as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. However, this design cannot be applied to the high speed testing system because the device holder 304 is relatively heavy and the up-and-down movement frequency is typically limited to below six (6) cycles per second.